Huron County could be the next region to join Ontario’s Wine Route.
Economic Development Officer Michael Pullen says they could have vines in the ground by 2013.
Over the next three years the county will be testing soil and temperature inversions to see if it’s viable.
Pullen says they’ve been able to do some in depth soil sampling around Zurich, Bayfield and North of Goderich.
He says thanks to recently announced Communities Adjustment Fund grant of 20 thousand dollars, they will continue their testing.
That money will also go to setting up another small scale wind testing tower north of Goderich.
Two testing towers, which measure temperature inversion, were set up in the Bayfield area last spring.
Pullen says the Niagra region uses air machines to push the warm air that rises back down to the ground.
Experts believe Huron County will need those wind machines to make a viable industry, so that’s why they need to test the temperature differences in the air and ground.
The test towers will be up for three years looking for a 4 -7 degree Celsius temperature inversion.
If they do find that inversion, Pullen says they can move to the next phase of putting vines into the ground.
Prince Edward County, the Niagara Escarpment, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Toronto and York Regions, Lake Erie North Shore and Pelee Island currently make up Ontario’s wine route.
